Gregg Purchase Party

Come out to the annual meeting of the Friends of the Gregg and enjoy some wine, hors d’oeuvres and the newest acquisitions to the James and Eileen Lecce Ethnic Art Collection from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23. Friends of the Gregg will also be voting on objects to add to this collection and electing board members. Lecce’s mentor and internationally known artist, Al Farrow will speak about his work and the selection process for acquisitions to the Lecce Ethnic Art Collection.

Sculptor Al Farrow has had numerous solo exhibitions since 1970, and is currently represented by Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco. His work has been exhibited at the de Young Museum of Art, the Oakland Art Gallery, the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, Falkirk Cultural Center in Marin, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, among many others. He has over 20 years of bronze casting experience. His work is in many important public and private collections around the world, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the di Rosa Preserve in Napa, and other collections in New York, Germany, Italy, and Hong Kong.

Jim and Eileen Lecce have been members of the NC State community for more than 40 years.  Jim Lecce came to NC State in the mid-1950’s to join the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where he ultimately held the coveted William Neal Reynolds Professorship in Animal Science and Microbiology. Lecce had a distinguished academic career and retired in 1994, leaving behind a legacy including numerous publications, patents, awards and honors.  In 1990, he began carving and sculpting, and his passion for the sciences shifted towards the visual arts. Inspired by the ethnic art of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas, Lecce’s own work has been exhibited in galleries on both coasts.  The Lecces’ generous bequest will support the purchase, care and exhibition of a unique collection of tribal art from Africa, the Pacific and the Americas.

RSVP to Hilary Kinlaw at hilary_kinlaw@ncsu.edu or 515-3503.